Abstract
Objective We sought to define the severity and natural history of hypertriglyceridemia induced acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP), specifically whether HTG-AP causes more severe AP than that caused by other etiologies. Methods Systematic review of the English literature. Results Thirty-four studies (15 countries; 1972–2015) included 1340 HTG-AP patients (weighted mean prevalence of 9%). The median admission triglyceride concentration was 2622 mg/dl (range 1160–9769). Patients with HTG have a 14% weighted mean prevalence of AP. Plasmapheresis decreased circulating triglycerides, but did not conclusively affect AP mortality. Only 7 reports (n = 392 patients) compared severity of HTG-AP to that of AP from other etiologies. Of these, 2 studies found no difference in severity, while 5 suggested that HTG-AP patients may have increased severity compared to AP of other etiology. Conclusions 1) hypertriglyceridemia is a relatively uncommon (9%) cause of acute pancreatitis; however, patients with hypertriglyceridemia have a high (14%) incidence of acute pancreatitis; 2) plasmapheresis may offer specific therapy unique to this patient population; and 3) data specifically comparing the severity of HTG-AP with AP caused by other etiologies are heterogeneous and scarce.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 469-476 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Pancreatology |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Acute pancreatitis
- Etiology
- Hypertriglyceridemia
- Necrotizing pancreatitis
- Plasmapheresis
- Systematic review
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Hepatology
- Gastroenterology